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Winter 2014 FEATURES
32
Never Stop Fighting ‘Til the Fight is Done
36
The Truth Behind Bullying in Sports
By Anna Aagenes and Brian Goldthorpe
By Billy Bean
40
The High Five … In Action!
42
Sochi’s Effect on Good Sportsmanship
46
Using Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to Maximize a Student-Athlete’s Success
32
By Brian Patrick
By Cyd Zeigler
By Kirk Walker
DEPARTMENTS
36
LETTERS
8 In Your Face
BEN COHEN, MBE, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
10 With You
ERIC CARLYLE, CEO/PUBLISHER
12 BrandNews
PATRICK DAVIS, CO-PUBLISHER
14 From Different to Special
CONNIE WARDMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
SPECIAL
30 High-5 For Standing Up 50 Fitness
Five Minute Fat Fighter
52 Women in Sports
Good Sportsmanship Starts with the Privileged
16 18 20 24 26 28
46
IN EVERY ISSUE The Foundation: The Time for Good Sportsmanship is Now Food: Eating to Win Politics: “Sport has the Power to Change the World.” Campus Life: The Key to Respect – A Great Team Success: How to Adopt the Culture of Positivity on Your Team, at Home or at Work Pop Culture: Good Sportsmanship – A Concept That Transcends Sports
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PUBLISHERS - publisher@standup-magazine.com
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Eric Carlyle, CEO/Publisher Patrick Davis, Co-Publisher
Ben Cohen, MBE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF - editor@standup-magazine.com
SPECIAL GUEST CONTRIBUTORS
Connie Wardman CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Alison Doerfler Scott “Babydaddy” Hoffman Michael Losier Brian Sims Shane Windmeyer CONTRIBUTING WRITERS - writers@standup-magazine.com
Anna Aagenes Billy Bean Brian Goldthorpe Nancy Hogshead-Makar Miriam Latto Mark Moon Brian Patrick Kirk Walker Cyd Zeigler
ART DIRECTOR - artdirector@standup-magazine.com
Dara Fowler COVER DESIGN TEAM
Andrew Jones Cover photo by Edwin Santiago For Editorial and Media Inquiries editorial@standup-magazine.com Media Out Loud Advisory Board - advisoryboard@standup-magazine.com
Eric Carlyle and Patrick Davis (Co-Chairs); Mark Braun; Helen J. Carroll; Troup Coronado, ESQ; Amy Jones; Dr. William Kapfer; Molly Lenore; Michael Losier; Scott Norton, ESQ; and Kirk Walker StandUp Magazine is published by Sports Diversity Media, LLC, under license from Ben Cohen Worldwide, LLC © 2014 by Sports Diversity Media, LLC Sports Diversity Media, LLC 4703 S. Lakeshore Dr., Suite 3 Tempe, Arizona 85282 480.222.4223 www.standup-magazine.com
For Sales Inquires advertising@standup-magazine.com
Professor Nancy HogsheadMakar is a life-long advocate for access and equality in athletics and an internationally recognized legal expert on sports issues. A civil rights attorney with a 12year career as a law professor, she is senior director of advocacy for the Women’s Sports Foundation and is considered one of the most influential people regarding Title IX. Both a scholar and author, Hogshead-Makar is committed to equity, using sport as a vehicle for social change Also an award-winning swimmer, Hogshead-Makar is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, a member of 12 Halls of Fame and has been ranked by Sports Illustrated as Florida’s 13th greatest athlete overall of the 20th Century (third greatest female). She and her husband Scott, an appellate judge on Florida’s First District Court of Appeal, have a son and twin daughters.
Coach Kirk Walker is the assistant women’s softball coach for UCLA. As a first-time member of the Bruins staff from 19841994, Walker began a journey that would make him one of the first openly gay NCAA Division I coaches. He coached six NCAA Championship teams at UCLA before leaving for Oregon State where he built one of the leading women’s softball programs at the college level. During his 18 seasons at Oregon he and his longtime partner Randy adopted a daughter. During that time Walker was also a member of the national team coaching staff for the 2000-2004 Olympic Quadrenium. Now back home at UCLA, Walker’s journey to live openly and honestly has helped lead the way for other coaches and individuals to do the same. He is also committed to helping all student-athletes make the most of their college athletic experience. Walker’s most recent honor was the Inspiring Coach Award he received from Compete Magazine at their recent Compete Sports Diversity Awards.
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INYOURFACE
By Ben Cohen, MBE
Good Sportsmanship Starts with Good Leadership
NO MATTER
WHAT SPORT YOU PLAY, the first thing an athlete does is learn the rules of the game and the team rules set in place by the coach. As the leader, it is the coach who makes sure the team performs cohesively, adhering to this set of rules. Good sportsmanship is one of the sporting rules that enable all athletes to have a positive experience regardless of the level of the game or the skills. What about when the leader of the “team” is a head of state? Nelson Mandela combined his leadership abilities with the positive power of sports to end South Africa’s political policies of apartheid. Using sports as a change agent and good sportsmanship as a teaching tool, his courageous leadership led the citizens of his country into a new democratic political process. It enabled the once-divided country to come together as a unified whole in an unprecedented moment in time. What about when the leader of the “team” is an organisation? I experienced this in the U.K. in 1996 when Show Racism the Red Card launched to address the country’s racist attitudes. Acknowledging racism as a problem, the charity uses the popularity of football and its high profile players not only to educate the public about racism but also to offer activities for people of all ages to combat racism in football and all other sports. The organisation now offers a variety of educational resources for teachers and other training and development professionals to use in schools and workplaces. Good sportsmanship starts at the top — it starts with coaches and team leaders who create a climate of equality, diversity and inclusion so everyone who wants to play is given a chance to be accepted by teammates and have a positive playing experience. I look forward next month to seeing that come to life on the international stage at the Olympic Games.
Cheers,
Ben Cohen, MBE Founder and Chairman, the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation
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Good sportsmanship starts at the top
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WITHYOU
By Eric Carlyle
The Timer is Ready to Ring
WHILE
THE UNITED STATES EARNED THE NICKNAME “MELTING POT” in the early days of the mass immigration to its shores, the idea of equality and the welcoming of diversity is still slowly evolving. Just like all good things, the idea of true equality is taking time. To me, it feels like I am standing in front of a microwave screaming “hurry!” But in 2013 we saw things really start to speed up, especially in the world of sports. Leaders like current WNBA player Brittney Griner, NBA player Jason Collins, MLS star player Robbie Rogers and PBA champion Scott Norton have helped change peoples’ minds about the importance of equality and diversity. And the courageous open support of sports allies, like StandUp Magazine’s Executive Editor Ben Cohen, helped clear the way for the likes of Griner, Collins, Rogers and Norton to let their true athletic ability shine. While brave men like Cohen set the stage early-on for the advancement of equality and diversity, there are many lesser-known champions of equality in the background who have spent years devoted to this cause. They include people like NCLR’s Helen Carroll, GLSEN’s Pat Griffin, former MLB umpire Dave Pallone — the list goes on and on. Together, all those I just mentioned who advocate for equality have kind of formed a team of their own. That team includes the many organizations and individuals worldwide that are working tirelessly for change and acceptance. The world is the real melting pot now. The team of individuals and organizations that have taken their passion for equality and diversity to heart are truly speeding up the evolution of equality. By staying the course until there is an end to discrimination they will ensure that everyone has the opportunity to openly participate in sports — and more. As StandUp Magazine enters 2014, I am so glad to know that the microwave’s timer is about to ring.
With you,
Eric Carlyle CEO/Publisher
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The world is the real melting pot now.
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BRANDNEWS
By Patrick Davis
The Brand is the Thing
SAVVY
BUSINESS PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE POWER of a solid brand. When carefully created, marketed and attentively guarded, a brand becomes the living image of a company, corporation or event. A good brand reputation can produce valuable revenue, both in terms of money and talent. In the sporting world there is hardly a bigger, better and more-closely guarded brand than the Olympic Games. The cost of being a top Olympic partner is a significant investment not to be taken lightly. With long-time top official sponsors such as Coca-Cola and McDonald’s paying a huge chunk of the money required to hold such a large international event, their expectations of exclusivity aren’t surprising. It is, however, more than simply about making money at the event — it’s about maintaining a company’s brand standards and reputation, which is its true currency in the business world. Without constant attention to detail, one thoughtless comment or action by a company or organization can tarnish a brand and destroy years of good work. Every Olympic Games has its share of marketers trying to gain advantage by association. They hope to align their brands with the Olympic Games and its premiere top sponsor companies without paying for the privilege. Brands with a poor reputation can quickly and easily destroy the power of the Olympic brand. During the 2012 Games in London, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) placed heavy restrictions around the athletes’ use of social media to prevent such exposure. It was to prevent athletes from knowingly or inadvertently mentioning or photographing brands of athletic clothing, equipment, sports drinks and other associated consumer goods that were not officially associated with the Olympic brand. While many businesses and even a number of Olympians were frustrated with this ruling, it was intended to protect the powerful reputation of the Olympic Games brand and those of their top sponsors. How things operate next month in Sochi has a new level of relevance due to the discrimination that takes place in Russia and the apparent lack of leadership from the IOC in challenging that notion. How brands at this Olympic Games show up is critical to the LGBT community in particular, and consumers will witness in real time how brands can lead the social conversations. We have built a sports brand with a message and are vigilant about the StandUp brand because we ask you to align yourself with our cause. We want you to “Support the Cause. Shop the Brand. Stop the Bullying.” All the best,
Patrick T. Davis Co-Publisher Chief Executive Officer, Ben Cohen Worldwide, LLC
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... one thoughtless comment or action by a company or organization can tarnish a brand and destroy years of good work.
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FROMDIFFERENTTOSPECIAL
By Connie Wardman
Good Sportsmanship in Action
EVERYTHING
STARTS WITH AN IDEA. It may be vague in the beginning but as it’s refined, honed into a concept that others decide to support, you have the opportunity to put it into action. As more and more people get behind it, it gathers power. And in some cases it is powerful enough to positively change the world we all inhabit. But it’s that action step that either makes or breaks an idea’s ability to become a gamechanger. For individuals simply to profess a belief in an idea like good sportsmanship isn’t enough — lip service doesn’t make things happen. Individuals have to apply their belief in good sportsmanship’s ideals of equality, diversity, inclusion and support in their everyday lives. Positive results are achieved only when enough of us make the courageous decision to grow personally and to respect, support and mentor others around us in that same quest to change the power of the status quo. So this issue shares stories of those who believe in the power of good sportsmanship. They are the faces of good sportsmanship in action — they are actively working for diversity and inclusion in sports, applying what they believe within their own spheres of influence. And what better time for all of us to join them, to Stand Up and take an active part in ending old negative ideas and practices that keep athletes of all ages feeling excluded because they’re different. Why wait? StandUp vice chairman and former MLB player Billy Bean talks about the long-accepted “hazing” in sports from high school to the pros and calls it what it really is — bullying. Foundation founder Ben Cohen addresses the impact of the Sochi Olympics on good sportsmanship. There is a story on Nelson Mandela who used the power of sports to end 300 years of apartheid in his native South Africa. But there are also students, coaches, individual athletes, families and fans who are making a difference. You don’t have to be a former professional athlete, a human rights advocate or someone else you deem important to Stand Up for your beliefs in equality and acceptance for all athletes. When you have a choice to make in your daily life, you only need the courage to do the right thing. When you choose the various elements of good sportsmanship, such as including everyone and honoring the differences they bring, you are making people feel special. You are ensuring that everyone who wants to play is able to participate and have a positive experience playing sports. So when you’re faced with a decision to make today, whether it’s on the field of sport, business or daily life, your personal, individual choice counts more than you realize. Your choice to be accepting and welcoming of others and playing by the rules of fair conduct means you are actively supporting good sportsmanship — you are helping to strengthen a very important idea by putting it into action in your own everyday life.
Connie Wardman Editor-in-Chief
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... it’s that action step that either makes or breaks an idea’s ability to become a gamechanger.
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THEFOUNDATION
By Alison Doerfler
The Time for Good Sportsmanship is Now
sports·man·ship
n. 1. The fact or practice of participating in sports or a sport. 2. Conduct and attitude considered as befitting participants in sports, especially fair play, courtesy, striving spirit, and grace in losing.
A
S THE WORLD PREPARES FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES in Sochi next month, the team at the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation uses this moment in time as an opportunity to reflect. As each athlete, judge and coach stands before a crowd of 40,000 (with millions of others watching on televisions and computers around the world), they will take an oath, “respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, committing ourselves to a sport without doping and without drugs, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams.” Despite the history of Russia, the culture of oppression and the conflicting emotions that result from having the Olympics in a location like this, StandUp believes that showing up, participating in the games in an honest and respectful way and honoring the spirit of sportsmanship and respect will elevate the conversation and the lessons learned. We know that athletes are not immune to personal challenges that make exemplifying this behavior possible each time they
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play. There are times when being a good sport does not come easy. Equally important to the physical training that takes place leading up to a game or a match is the mental training and practice it takes to display positive sportsmanship. The stories that the StandUp Magazine tells, the grants that the StandUp Foundation awards and the programs and partnerships that we participate in each year are all focused on the positive elements of sporting behavior. Athletes who live and play as good team players and coaches who know the difference between “fair play and foul play” will help our future generations have a truly positive experience on the playing field. We wish all of the athletes at the Winter Games, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class or country of origin, the best of luck next month. We look forward to lifting up the stories of positive sportsmanship. Alison Doerfler is the executive director of the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation & the executive vice president of Ben Cohen Worldwide, LLC
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FOOD
By Miriam Latto
Eating to Win
IF YOU’RE A SERIOUS TRIATHLETE, there is a book on the market that is tailored specifically to help you cross the finish line fueled by your best personal nutrition plan based on the specific competition in which you’re involved. Written by Dr. Jamie A. Cooper, “The Complete Nutrition Guide for Triathletes” is really a comprehensive nutrition guidebook written for triathletes by a triathlete. An assistant professor at Texas Tech University, Dr. Cooper teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Sports Nutrition and a graduate course in Sports Supplements and Ergogenic Aids. She is also a kinesiology expert with an emphasis in exercise physiology and nutritional sciences. Having grown up playing sports, Dr. Cooper has spent the last 15 years competing in triathlons and marathons. As an endurance athlete, it was her frustration in not finding a comprehensive nutrition guide for triathletes that led her to write this book. “I am continually amazed,” writes Dr. Cooper, “at how much time triathletes spend making sure they have the right gear, optimizing their training plans, or selecting races that have courses designed to help them achieve a personal record (PR). Yet, the one thing I see most triathletes overlook or ignore completely is their nutrition.” If you are involved in Sprint, Olympic, Half Ironman and Ironman Distances and have shared her frustration about the lack of detailed nutrition information, be frustrated no more. It’s clear that Dr. Cooper doesn’t overlook anything. Broken into three parts, the first section looks at the essential nutrients in a triathlete’s diet – the carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and fluids. For example, simply taking supplements in a shotgun approach without a need for them in a personal nutritional plan doesn’t make sense. An anemic athlete, for instance, taking iron supplements will see an increase in performance but a triathlete who’s not deficient in any mineral won’t see any performance increase. She also shares the importance of phenomena such as cardiac drift. Dr. Cooper says she learned about this as an exercise physiologist but didn’t fully understand its importance until she started to monitor her own heart rate.
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Part two focuses on a triathlete’s training and race-day nutrition. Beginning with appropriate nutrient intake before, during and after training sessions, Dr. Cooper then takes each of the Sprint, Olympic and three triathlon disciplines and shares information on pre-race, during-race and post-race recovery and nutrition. Included are such handy guidelines on how to calculate your pre-race carbohydrate intake, and important “Make Note” tidbits, like the fact that postrace recovery nutrition should begin within a 15-30 minute critical window to reach maximum recovery. Special topics — weight loss and weight maintenance; supplements and ergogenic aids; illness and injury; frequently asked questions and top ten nutrition tips – form part three of the book. If you’ve had questions about pre-race jitters, tapering, or late-night eating, for example, Dr. Cooper provides pragmatic advice based on both her professional training and personal experience. She also includes an Appendix that is absolutely amazing in the amount of specific information it provides on such things as common sports beverages, common salt and electrolyte tablet products and specific food products. Dr. Cooper combines her professional expertise as a kinesiologist with emphasis in physiology and nutritional sciences with her personal experience as an endurance athlete.
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POLITICS
By Connie Wardman
“Sport has the Power to Change the World.”
WHEN NELSON MANDELA DIED ON DECEMBER 5, 2013 at age 95, the world lost a truly great human being. He’ll long be remembered for his many positive achievements, including winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. As a civil rights activist in his native South Africa battling the white segregationist laws known as apartheid, beginning in 1962 he served 27 years of a life sentence at hard labor for his efforts. Rather than lessening or destroying his activism, however, his prison years honed his natural leadership abilities that, combined with his background as an attorney, set the stage for his rise as a powerful global human rights leader. What was it about this lawyer-turned-political prisonerturned-human rights leader that set him apart from many other bright, equally-committed leaders? Despite a commonly-held view that sports and politics shouldn’t mix, Mandela saw the synergy created when the two were mixed. He recognized the intrinsic power of sports as an agent of change. And he used that potent combination of sports and politics to move his country out from under political domination by the Afrikaners, the white descendants of Dutch and other European settlers in South Africa that represented only about five percent of the country’s population. Like many nations, South Africa was obsessed with sports. Rugby, cricket, tennis and golf — they all carried with them a huge cultural impact. An amateur boxer in his younger years, Mandela competed at a time when, according to Charles Korr, American historian and co-author of “More Than Just a Game,” sports offered lessons on good sportsmanship that included the ideas of winning graciously and learning lessons through your defeats. While still in prison Mandela had already experienced that all-important teachable moment – the one where he recognized how sports could be used to unite or divide. He knew the power
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of sports to excite and inflame as well as to heal and restore. So when Mandela became his country’s first black president in 1994 he didn’t need to start from scratch to figure out how to change the political climate in South Africa — he knew just where to begin. For 18 of his 27 years as a political prisoner, he had been incarcerated in the harsh penal colony of Robben Island, located off Cape Town. Kept isolated from the other prisoners, he wasn’t permitted to play on the prisoners’ soccer league. But he continued to follow the league’s results, understanding that its value to his fellow-prisoners was not only a connection to humanity but it also provided them a vehicle to express their sense of defianace. In a film sponsored by FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, Mandela said “The energy, passion and dedication the game created made us feel alive and triumphant despite the situation we found ourselves in.” In 1980 the United Nations began to gather a “Register of Sports Contacts with South Africa,” the start of a sporting boycott of South Africa to protest its policy of apartheid. During that time Mandela had become a big fan of boxer Muhammad Ali’s activism. And somehow a photo of U.S. sprinters John Carlos and Tommie Smith raising their fists in protest at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico was smuggled onto Robben Island. This only continued to confirm for him the value of dissent in sports to bring about social change. Richard Lapchick, leading U.S. anti-apartheid activist and founding director of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida, said that “You could smuggle in trade, oil and currency, but if you had a sporting event, you couldn’t play in the dark. He [Mandela] realized this is a sports-mad world and it was the way that people in various countries learned what apartheid was really about.” After three hundred years of white domination and black
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"Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all kinds of discrimination." - Nelson Mandela, May 25, 2000
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POLITICS
continued
oppression, Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first black president on May 10, 1994. Following his inauguration, he went to a soccer match in Johannesburg to watch the South African team hand Zambia a defeat. He also told the crowd there that it was time for South Africa to re-enter international sport. Lapchick, who had been sitting in the presidential box with Mandela, asked him why he had chosen to watch soccer, the favored sport of the black majority, rather than attending the various inauguration parties. Mandela’s reply was “I wanted to make sure our people know how much I appreciated the sacrifices made by our athletes during the many years of the boycott. I have no doubt I became president today sooner than I would have had they not made those sacrifices.” Just one year later democracy had replaced apartheid and the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup was being held in South Africa. The special addiction of the white Afrikaner minority was always South Africa’s national rugby team, the Springboks. The black community viewed the Springbok mascot as a symbol of apartheid's tyranny, and while he was incarcerated, Mandela had always rooted for the other countries to beat them. The team had only one black player but played in the ’95 World Cup using the slogan “One Team, One Country.” Mandela’s supporters had tried to break up the team before he stopped them. Instead, he told the
players that “Our loyalties have completely changed. We have adopted these young men as our own boys.” South Africa defeated New Zealand in the final match of the tournament. And ignoring many of his political advisers, Mandela made his historically famous decision recounted in the movie “Invictus,” a decision that was both strategic and reconciliatory. He handed the coveted Rugby World Cup trophy to Francois Pienaar, the white captain of the Springboks while wearing a green jersey with Pienaar’s number 6 on it. Pienaar recounted that at the time “He told me thanks for all we’ve done for South Africa. I reciprocated, telling him we could never have done as much as he’s done for South Africa.” Later Mandela even became godfather to Pienaar’s oldest child. The good he achieved, the awards he won, the position of power he held never went to his head — Mandela wore it all well with great humility. Lapchick tells one last story about Mandela on his inauguration day. When he told Mandela that he believed the world’s two most beloved and unifying figures were Mandela and Ali, Mandela replied that “If I was in a crowded room with Ali, I would stop what I was doing and go to him. He is the Greatest.” No one has defined the power of sports more accurately or used it more effectively than Mandela himself.
The good he achieved, the awards he won, the position of power he held never went to his head — Mandela wore it all well with great humility.
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COLLEGELIFE
By Shane L. Windmeyer
The Key to Respect – A Great Team
JENELLE DEVITS, WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
I was 12 years old when I had my first same-sex crush. I played on a travel soccer team, and the best player on our team happened to be very pretty. I remember realizing this crush and not knowing what it meant. I cried hysterically in my room that night thinking, “I can’t be gay!” My mom came in and asked me what was wrong. I told her that I thought I had a crush on my teammate. She sat down and told me that it probably wasn’t a crush, but perhaps I was “jealous” of how good she was or how pretty she was. My mom then said it was ok and that I should get some rest. I remember thinking she was wrong. More than 10 years later I now know that she was wrong. It wasn’t until high school that I realized I wanted to date girls. Unfortunately, I was internally homophobic and rejected that realization. However, my senior year I let go of my belief that being interested in the same-sex was somehow wrong or immoral. I let go of my fear that people would judge me or hate me. I no longer cared. Being an athlete was crucial to this enlightenment. I was surrounded by friends, some of whom were also interested in
girls, and teammates who were supportive. I was involved on a team that was inclusive and respectful. Looking back, it was actually my teammates and friends (most of whom are still my close friends) that helped form my confidence to be myself. This carried over into college. My freshman year at the University of New Hampshire I walked onto a Division I women’s basketball team. Luckily, I was not the only “out” LGBT person in the locker room. In fact, I had an “out” head coach. The environment that she created was welcoming and inclusive. She made sure that respect was the numberone ingredient in our team. I still believe that respect is key to a great TEAM. Respect. It is a simple word that somehow manifests itself into a complex thing. Through my own experience as an LGBT student-athlete, and through friends’ experiences that I’ve witnessed, I’ve realized being an LGBT athlete sometimes makes respect that much more complex. That is why GO! Athletes, GLSEN’s Sports Project, Women’s Sports Foundation and others rally behind inclusiveness in sport. They rally around respect of LGBT athletes – something that can change the lives of millions of young people. I understand how important it is to ensure that sports are inclusive of LGBT people and that respect is created throughout all athletic teams and departments. Sports change lives — and hopefully, sport can start saving lives, too. A special thank you to Cyd Ziegler from OutSports.com for compiling the “Featured Champions” as part of the Campus Pride Out To Play Project.
Respect. It is a simple word that somehow manifests itself into a complex thing.
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Shane Windmeyer is the executive director of Campus Pride, a national nonprofit helping LGBT student leaders and campus groups.
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SUCCESS
By Michael Losier
How to Adopt the Culture of Positivity on Your Team, at Home or at Work
WE'VE ALL EXPERIENCED IT — that negative person at the party, on the team, at your workplace or maybe even in your family. Have you seen how negativity can be contagious? Sometimes we say that others have a bad vibe, which means they are creating negative moods within the people around them. I'm sure you can bring to mind someone you know like that. Are you a CONTRIBUTOR or a CORRECTOR in this problem? To adopt the culture of positivity on your team, your workplace or your home environment will take some new rules. But changing the vibe of any group, whether it be a sports team, a team in the workplace or your family team, will show immediate results — people will work together better; brainstorming ideas becomes fun and all the team players begin to get along. The task of bringing positivity to your environment really is possible. The good news is that the best way to become more positive is to become less negative. It sounds simple but often the simplest things are the hardest ones to honor on a regular basis.
The Best Way to Become More Positive is to Become Less Negative People who are negative share a common denominator. They complain, they see the glass as half-empty, they are always looking the negative side of things and they always talk about what they don't like or don't want. If you pay attention, you’ll find that most of their conversations include the words don't, not or no. There are some practices you can adopt to ensure that the contribution you are making to your environment is a positive one. Here are two that I would encourage you to teach to
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others, to practice with others, and most importantly, to make it a policy or habit to use them yourself. This will help you to bring more positivity into all your relationships. (1) ASK what you or others would like. Understand that behind every complaint is a request — this is important! So when you are about to complain or when you hear others complain, practice asking this question — what would you like. By making this a habit, not only will you become less negative, you will also reduce complaining people within your environment. (2) TALK about what you DO want, not what you DON'T want. Eliminate the words, don't, not and no. Again, the easiest way to apply this is to ask the question, "So, what do I want?" This helps eliminate talking negatively about what you don't what and positively rephrasing it to what you do want. Most people don’t recognize their personal power to create or change their environment. But when incorporated into your daily communication habits, both of the above tools will help you stay in rapport with others. And when you are in rapport with others by keeping a positive vibe in your environment, you are actually making a positive contribution to the environment you share with others around you. Teach others around you how to use these two tools. Hang signs, remind each other before meetings, and most of all, model the behavior. Model the behavior by showing others how YOU do it and how YOU phrase your feedback and answers. Be a CONTRIBUTOR to positive environments within your world. Michael Losier is an international speaker and best-selling author on the Law of Attraction.
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POPCULTURE
By Scott “Babydaddy” Hoffman
Good Sportsmanship — A Concept That Transcends Sports
WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I REGULARLY SPENT A MONTH OF MY YEAR AT A SUMMER CAMP in Wisconsin. Although I grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, a town known to be a center of basketball fanaticism, I have to say that my real introduction to understanding an obsession with sports came from Sean, my best friend from those summers. We couldn’t have been more different. While I usually spent my downtime listening to Queen on my Walkman or lost in a horror movie magazine, Sean was busy studying a sports almanac or creating fantasy baseball leagues. And while our conversations through the years sometimes eluded our divergent passions, most of the time we couldn’t avoid discussing the merits of our seemingly incompatible obsessions. What was funny to me about our odd friendship is that we found more things we had in common than differences that separated us. Every claim that Sean made about the heroism of sports icons brought me to proclaim my idolization of musical pioneers; conversations about the enduring value of songs led Sean to explain to me the myth-like nature of historic sports victories. And of course the similarities of our pastimes couldn't be denied because they created passionate, supportive communities that brought people together for a common cause. I believe what we also realized was that true heroes, real heroes, while sometimes flawed were always human. They shared a courageousness to do what they loved, a respect for their peers despite any competitiveness as well as an ethos about their profession that revolved around staying true to an uncompro-
... we also realized was that true heroes, real heroes, while sometimes flawed were always human.
mising vision. To me, this is a combination of qualities that I would call good sportsmanship. Whether it was tales of Pete Rose always running his fastest despite hitting the ball out of the park or a discussion of the merits of the heavy metal ethos, our true heroes, on the field or onstage, seemed to be those who valued ongoing hard work and a commitment to doing what they loved. Holding on to values of good sportsmanship is a constant battle in the world of entertainment. And I can only imagine that’s true in most other professions as well. Weakness is assumed when ignoring the call to respond to criticism, and an attitude of competitiveness can so easily slide into an air of self-importance. Twitter feuds are commonplace and stars hide rude, demeaning behavior behind a wall of security personnel. Perhaps worst of all, ethical compromises are made in exchange for the promise of amassing further money and fame. Perhaps some would even say that our culture has stopped putting value in good sportsmanship. I’d respond that while our culture has the growing means and consistent desire to focus more on failure, mean-spirited attitude or unbridled arrogance, the enduring heroes seem to be the ones who consistently maintain a long career committed to a respect for those around them, a reverence for those who came before them and an appreciation and support for those who will come after them. Keeping an eye on one’s place in this long history along with the ability to look past the public’s fickle obsession with bad behavior, is surely the way toward holding on to good sportsmanship. Once we see ourselves as part of a greater lineage — one filled with long-remembered heroes as opposed to those faux heroes who are easily forgotten — I think we can find it easier to hold on to those enduring values of good sportsmanship. When we’re committed to being better, these are values that can eventually turn us into the heroes we hope to be. Scott “Babydaddy” Hoffman is a co-founder and member of the musical group, Scissor Sisters.
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$200,000 Nike dedicated the proceeds from their 2013 #BeTrue line to the LBGT Sports Coalition for their collective work to create an inclusive sports culture to end bullying and anti-LGBT bias & discrimination in sports
RIGHT TO PLAY Formerly Olympic Aid, Right To Play was established at the Winter Games in Lillehammer as a fundraising body to help people in disadvantages areas of the world. Today, its mission is to use sport and play to educate and empower children and youth to overcome the effects of poverty, conflict and disease in disadvantaged communities.
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“Part of the Change” “I got sick and tired of seeing people dying at a young age. It hurt me a lot. People were dying from diseases that were treatable. I thought I could be part of the change and contribute to society and to mankind.” — Former NBA All-Star, Dikembe Mutombo on the humanitarian efforts of his foundation, which builds hospitals and provides health care in his native Congo
0
Tolerance All 30 NBA teams received a memo from the league office in November reminding them that no form of bullying or hazing will be tolerated.
MILITARY MONDAYS The New York Mets announced the franchise will salute U.S. servicemen and women with Military Mondays during the 2014 season at Citi Field with complimentary tickets, retail discounts and community outreach events. On the field, Mets players will wear a new camouflage jersey for every Monday night home game at Citi Field starting April 21, 2014.
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NEVER STOP FIGHTING ‘T
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G ‘TIL THE
By Anna Aagenes and Brian Goldthorpe
FIGHT IS DONE GO! (Generation Out) Athletes and the LGBT Sports Movement
ACCORDING TO
Campus Pride's Athlete Report from
2012, one in four gay, lesbian and bisexual (GLB) college athletes are pressured to be silent about their sexual orientation. Though the data on transgender or trans athletes is limited due to a small sample size, trans athletes undoubtedly have even fewer supportive resources to help them navigate coming out than their LGB counterparts. Despite the public stories
of “out and proud” pro athletes like WNBA star Brittney Griner, NBA player Jason Collins, and MMA fighter Fallon Fox, many LGBT athletes remain fearful about coming out while competing for their high school, college and community sports teams. Considering recent political progress in the movement for LGBT equality , it may seem shocking that over 25 percent of LGBT collegiate athletes are or have been pressured to be silent about our sexual or gender identity. We, as the Generation of Out Athletes (GO! Athletes), are fighting to change that statistic. We won’t rest until all LGBT athletes feel supported and can comfortably come out to their teammates, coaches and athletic communities. In 2008 GO! Athletes was founded and developed by current and former LGBT athletes who realized there was no group for athletes “like us.” LGBT sports pioneers such as Dr. Pat Griffin, Jeff Sheng and John Amaechi helped our young leaders in the early days. But
“Being an NCAA studentathlete really opened my eyes to the need for LGBT groups in athletics. You simply can't perform to your full potential if you can't be yourself both in and out of uniform, and I'm excited about the changes that GO! Athletes will help bring about in that area.”
the vast majority of our work over the past five years has been executed by an exceptional group of recent college graduates and current student leaders — all of whom have selflessly volunteered their time to GO! Athletes. Our programmatic priorities, organizational culture and core values are based on our “High 5” Objectives: 1) VISIBILITY 2) EDUCATION 3) SUPPORT 4) ADVOCACY 5) LEADERSHIP To address visibility, for instance, we utilize our blog and dynamic social media presence to share one coming out story each week from young LGBT athletes around the country. Our weekly “Winning Wednesdays” spotlights LGBT athletes at every level (high school, college, post-grad, pro and recreational) — all of whom have overcome significant obstacles in their journey to living and competing openly. One of our college captains, Miah Register, who reached out to GO! Athletes in search of support has become
— BECCA LINDQUIST, FORMER NCAA ROWER AT CAL BERKELEY
determined to help others by raising awareness about the way in which she was publicly outed and pressured by her coach to quit the sport she loves.
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In another of our “Winning Wednesdays,” a high school student named Lypheng wrote about the way his track team embraced his coming out, providing him with the kind of unflinching support he didn’t receive at home. Lypheng also discussed the way that race and ethnicity affect his experience as a young gay athlete. At GO!, we are committed to cultivating and sharing coming out stories from the most diverse group of athletes possible so that all young LGBT athletes know there are others “like them.” Visibility is closely connected to the support and education we provide to schools and communities. Many who first share their stories for a “Winning Wednesday” feature remain engaged with GO! Athletes so they can share their stories as part of our educational panels and presentations. Since 2008, members of our board of directors and students have participated in hundreds of panels, workshops and seminars to address LGBT inclusion and equality in sports. After attending the second annual Nike LGBT Sports Summit in June, several of our members realized the LGBT sports movement needed an advocacy campaign to rally support for trans MMA fighter, Fallon Fox. GO! Athletes began our Fight4Fallon campaign under the direction of trans activist, Kye Allums. Kye led GO! Athletes in the creation of a group of “Fallon’s Fighters” to advocate on her behalf, focusing on combatting transphobic comments made by media, other athletes, and MMA fans. This became a robust social media campaign, and two of our student leaders, Heather Hargreaves and Katie Chockley, each wrote editorial pieces on the need to support trans athletes. Our most recent (and ongoing) advocacy effort is “Out4Olympics.” No recent issue better exemplifies the GO! Athletes commitment to creating change in sports culture than the debate about Russian antiLGBT laws at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. We were inspired to develop a campaign that would unite LGBT athletes from around the world. The initial phase of the campaign is a call-to-action for LGBT athletes to post a sports picture of them competing with the label #Out4Olympics on the GO! Athletes Facebook page. We’re encouraging all LGBT athletes to “photographically” come “out for the Olympics” in advance of the 2014 Winter Games. Once the social media phase of the campaign ends, the GO! Athletes board of directors will publish a book of all #Out4Olympics participant photos that will be presented to representatives of the International Olympic Committee, the U.S. Olympic Committee, the U.S. Department of State and the Russian Department of State as a show of support for American and international LGBT athletes. As a symbol of LGBT diversity and equality in sports culture, this book will send a message not only to the governing bodies of the Olympic Games but also (and most importantly) to those athletes competing in Sochi who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trans. We want them to know they are supported! Looking toward the future, GO! Athletes will enhance its fundraising activities to secure the resources needed to expand our visibility, support, education, advocacy and leadership programs for LGBT athletes. As an entirely volunteer-driven organization so far, we’re grateful to members of our All-Star advisory board, partner organizations and advocates who tirelessly support our mission. We’re looking toward the future of the LGBT sports movement with equal parts inspiration and anticipation. It’s going to be an amazing ride!
Anna Aagenes, executive director, GO! Athletes and Brian Goldthorpe, director of media relations, GO! Athletes
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THE TRUTH
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BEHIND BULLYING IN SPORTS By Billy Bean
E
very current and former athlete has an opinion about hazing in professional sports. For the “old school” player (like me), this was simply part of the process that every young player had to go through to become “part of the team.” However, the world
has changed. While the code of the locker room has always meant “what
happens in here, stays in here,” there is simply no way to keep it a secret anymore. For once, maybe that is a good thing. The word hazing has now been revealed by its real meaning, bullying. Any athlete who has risen from the playground to the pinnacle of his or her sport will tell you that over the years, through countless games and different teams there was always a moment where they had to prove themselves. In team sports, no matter how good you are, it takes a while to become accepted by the rest of your team. So the veterans have their set of rules and the rookies are required to follow them. It’s a perfect environment for trouble — young men and women following the lead of others in order to fit in and gain acceptance. Players in my generation did as we were told; it was not even a consideration to complain about it. We actually laughed about it. My father is a former Marine and I was trained to do as I was told and not to ask questions. It didn’t seem like bullying to me. I guess I just wanted to prove to my teammates that I was one of the guys, someone they could depend on. Ironically, I found that hazing was more a part of my college baseball experience than my professional one. So now this dirty little secret is a part of high school sports as well. I have watched closely over this past NFL season as the Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin story unfolded. It was no surprise to me when the first stories reported from inside the Miami Dolphins organization portrayed Martin as a snitch and traitor to the unspoken rule of men’s team sports. Part of the reason hazing has always worked with young men is because we are taught to keep our mouths shut, not complain, be tough. All the talking heads on ESPN quickly jumped to the defense of Incognito as a team leader, saying he was “only trying to toughen up a supposedly soft player who didn’t fit in with the rest of the team.” However, as the trail of texts and voicemails from Incognito to Martin were leaked, it was apparent that Martin was indeed being harassed in a way that was criminal. Incognito seemed drunk with power. He was allowed to behave above the rules of normal society. For a a 6 foot 5, 325-
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IT’S A PERFECT ENVIRONMENT FOR TROUBLE – YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN FOLLOWING THE LEAD OF OTHERS IN ORDER TO FIT IN AND GAIN ACCEPTANCE. pound offensive lineman, a two-time All-American at Stanford and a second round pick in the NFL draft to feel like he simply cannot survive the stress from another teammate was and is huge news. Could it have been so bad that he would walk away from an NFL job and millions of dollars? This story is particularly important to me since my involvement as vice-chairman with The StandUp Foundation over the past year. It has brought me close to many stories of bullying and its damaging effects that sometimes scar a person for life. We have been witness to countless tragedies of young boys and girls who have been alienated by their peers for one reason or another. With the current world living in a social media vortex, one uploaded video to You Tube or one tweeted picture can alter the course of someone’s life. And sadly, many of these consequences are tragic and have even led to suicide. In my day a player like Martin would have been ridiculed and alienated for speaking up. As a player, I wonder if I would have felt the same about him talking. However, as my life has intersected with my LGBT community and my work with StandUp, I now see that Jonathan’s courage can help many people who may never meet him or even know his name. A light has been shined on a dark, dirty secret. Martin has suffered judgment and harassment from many people who don’t know the whole story. But I have learned that good things usually come from difficult times. As a culture, if we realize the damage that bullying causes and educate our young children that it isn’t necessary and won’t be tolerated, we can move on and grow in a positive direction. Education changes everything. We are learning from these unfortunate examples. And while we may not be able to stop future instances, we can absolutely learn from them. It’s our responsibility to protect our youth. Whether they are athletes or not, every kid needs a coach, and every coach needs to let his or her kids know that bullying is unacceptable. I applaud Jonathan Martin for being brave enough to stop his living nightmare. We may never know all the circumstances but he has brought the conversation to every dinner table in America and for me, this will save some lives. Is there anything more important than that?
Billy Bean is vice chairman of the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation and a former Major League Baseball player.
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The High Five By Brian Patrick
IN ACTION!
In March the You Can Play (YCP) Project will celebrate its second birthday as one of the important advocacy organizations working to end homophobia in sports as proclaimed in its tagline — Gay athletes. Straight allies. Teaming up for respect. At the helm is executive director Wade Davis, a retired National Football League (NFL) player who came out as gay after he retired from professional sports. He’s also forged an impressive post-NFL career as a recreational athlete, a writer, youth worker, activist and co-founder of the You Belong Initiative. This passionate straight-shooter also isn’t ashamed to say that he’s an ex-bully. Just last month YCP announced the launch of their High Five Initiative geared to create meaningful connections between LGBT youth and leaders within the professional sports community. The first organization to participate was the NFL. Announcing it as a “soft launch,” former NFL players and NFL player engagement executives Troy Vincent and Dwight Hollier traveled to New York City for the YCP meeting. Held at the Hetrick Martin Institute (HMI), one of the oldest and largest LGBT organizations helping lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth between the ages of 12 and 24, HMI is also Davis' former employer. We caught up with Davis and asked him about the new High Five Initiative and more. How did the High Five Initiative come about? Was this already in the planning stage as part of the NFL, HMI, YCP outreach or did it just now come together? We have been working with the NFL and other leagues for a while now. We brainstormed about ways to involve athletes and young people in the High Five Initiative as a way to create conversation and facilitate dialogue between athletes and youth. It’s not a Q&A session but conversation between
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both groups to show each other how much they have in common, removing those invisible barriers that many believe exist but truly don’t once we show all the commonality between us. As a very bright, well-educated man, how do you explain the concept of good sportsmanship to kids who have to scramble for their existence? How do you get them to buy into the concept, what sort of examples do you use to convey the idea that taking cheap shots isn’t cool? The best way is to talk about the essence of sports which is team, family, solidarity and compassion. Often we look at sports on a surface level but never at its core. When you talk to athletes about what makes a team successful — it’s those abovementioned core values. And no team can be successful without them; those values speak to everyone being involved and feeling safe and welcomed. And cheap shots, bullying or harassment don’t have a place if your focus is on those core values of team, family, solidarity and compassion. How will you and/or your High Five colleagues be addressing the issue of bullying? Do you have materials ready for participants to take home with them or will you be creating some based on your varied experiences as a gay athlete who has played in high school, college and the NFL as well as recreational leagues, like the National Gay Flag Football League (NGFFL)? One of the most useful and impactful ways to handle bullying is through the power of storytelling. So whether it’s through our High Five Initiative or our Invisible Athlete forums, we try to create the space to have individuals share their stories and
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“... cheap shots, bullying or harassment don’t have a place if your focus is on those CORE VALUES of team, family, solidarity and compassion.” triumphs with issues of bullying. Also we have our YCP “Playbook” that is tailored to high schools, colleges and pro sports teams that discusses issues of bullying and how deal with and prevent it. How will this initiative impact your You Belong Camps already planned? Will you combine them as part of YCP, will you and your co-founder and business partner Darnell Moore continue to hold those on your own or will they take on a different format with different folks? The You Belong Initiative is separate from YCP and because I’m the co-founder of You Belong and the executive director of YCP, there’s a role that YCP will play in all our You Belong Camps. This March we are partnering with the NFL for the next camp, as well as with other LGBT organizations, like the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Campus Pride, GO! Athletes and many more. How do you see You Can Play evolving over the 2014 year? Are there new projects with professional sports organizations beyond the National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Soccer (MLS) and the NFL? During 2014 and beyond, the High Five initiative will partner with many other sports as we look to engage lots of youth and athletes across the country. Also, we are working toward making sure that the "LBT"(lesbian, bisexual and transgender) in GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) aren’t forgotten about. We’ll address that with initiatives that speak specifically to the ways that those groups are under-represented and discussed in the sports world. So look for more national partnership announcements with other sports leagues as well.
Wade Davis How has your past experience as a closeted gay athlete helped you in addressing homophobia in sports, both at the LGBT youth level and at the professional level with both players and sports executives? In many ways due to my background and training, I'm able to see multiple angles and multiple oppressions when addressing homophobia in sports. As an athlete, a gay man, a non-out athlete, a youth worker, an ex-bully and a minority, I am constantly looking at the world through various lenses and trying to recognize whose voices aren’t being heard and who is not being represented. My background helps me keep conversations spacious, hopefully free of judgment, and due to my background as a youth worker, very grounded. Working with highly-marginalized youth trained me to start my work at the “margins” and see the strength and assets in our youth and the world, not always seeing just the deficits. Also, I’m able to speak different languages or “code switch” depending on the audience to gain access into different worlds without needing to speculate or offer generalizations. YCP is already making inroads into the professional sports community to eliminate the homophobia, biphobia and transphobia associated with sports through its mission: You Can Play is dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation. You Can Play works to guarantee that athletes are given a fair opportunity to compete, judged by other athletes and fans alike, only by what they contribute to the sport or their team’s success. You Can Play seeks to challenge the culture of locker rooms and spectator areas by focusing only on an athlete’s skills, work ethic and competitive spirit." Wade Davis is the new executive director of the You Can Play project and is a former NFL player.
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SOCHI’S EFFECT ON GOOD
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D SPORTSMANSHIP By Cyd Zeigler
B
EN COHEN HAS NEVER PLAYED IN AN OLYMPIC GAMES, but the Rugby World Cup champion knows a thing or two about competing at a world class level. He also knows plenty about social justice issues and sportsmanship. Given the human rights problems
faced by these Olympics, held in a nation enacting powerful new anti-LGBT laws, Ben has his eyes
trained closely on these Games. We caught up with Ben to talk about what these upcoming Winter Olympics mean not just to the fans — LGBT and straight — sitting at home, but the athletes themselves who have worked so hard to get to this pinnacle of their careers. Did you have Olympic dreams when you were a kid? I didn't because it was never on my radar. It was never in the rugby circles. Even if it was, it probably wouldn’t have affected me anyway because it's sevens rugby that they’ve added to the Olympics. Sevens is huge in America now. It’s a very fast-moving game; it's only seven each way, and the whole tournament is very quick. It's a festive atmosphere, it's like a party. But my aspirations were always very much about achieving the ultimate, and in my sport that’s the World Cup. Every child who picks up an American football and throws it in a park with his dad, they talk about scoring the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl. I was no different, dreaming of scoring the winning try for the World Cup. Even as a kid, I always set my goals high. But I never thought I would achieve them. Did you watch the Olympics, even if you didn’t dream of competing? I have vague memories of the L.A. Olympics in 1984 and the guy coming in on a jetpack for the opening ceremony. As I’ve gotten older I’ve taken more of an interest in it. My big memories have been of the great sprinters like Carl Lewis, Linford Christie and Ben Johnson. As I've gotten older and seen how the Olympics grip the nation, I’ve gotten more interested in it. I’ve seen how big sports, like the Olympic Games, unites communities. When I started playing for my local team here, whenever we played we'd have a full house. When we won the Heineken Cup of the European Rugby Union, it was massive for the town. They lined the streets to celebrate. It was the first major win for the club in like 150 years. When I went on to play for England, I saw the whole country behind us, wearing the red rose on their chests. I felt a lot of responsibility with that. I didn't want to let my country and my people down. After we won the World Cup in Australia, when we came back the nation was at a standstill. It affected the economy, how people were in a good mood, how even people who didn't like sports were affected by it. It was incredible. To have a childhood dream come to reality, and to do what my uncle did — It didn't sink in until I retired.
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“I would take all of that fear and emotion and hate from Russia and use it to my advantage.” Were you in London during the Games? I have to say, I didn't think London would do as good a job as it did hosting the Summer Games. There was a lot of chatter about whether we would be able to sustain it with the traffic and the infusion of all those people. Would we be able to cope? We did, and I have to say, it was phenomenal. They built for longevity with some of the things they did, what they did with cleaning up the city and building facilities. I remember being on Downing Street before the Olympics. Everyone who was involved, whether you were a fan or working on the Olympics, felt like they'd won the lottery. They felt like they were part of something bigger. It was electric. When you talk to the athletes and the spectators about the atmosphere in different events, in rowing, in track and field, it didn't matter. Everyone said it was electric. But the important part was that the crowd got behind their own and helped them over-achieve all expectations. The whole country came to a standstill. And how the Paralympics was supported following the Olympics, it was a sellout everywhere. After Russia was awarded the Olympics, they enacted more anti-LGBT laws. Yeah, I'm in disbelief that that could happen. It's a disgrace. To do it right before the Olympics is crazy. I think it's intentional and I think they've made it political. I think they've put people in a really difficult position, which they should have never done. What concerns do you have about how these new laws might play out during the Games? How does the individual athlete who is in the closet, or an athlete who is out and proud and going to Russia, how is it going to affect them? Going to a country where they do not support you and they don’t want you there, how do you as an athlete turn that around as a positive? How do you individually shake off the fear and feed off or how does your team? We need to get rid of these distractions, make sports apolitical. We need to return to true sportsmanship. It shouldn't matter who you are, what you think or where you come from. If you can bring it to your sport, it’s happy days and that's it. And that's what it should be. Some athletes have trouble with added pressure and distractions, and some feed off of it. How do you turn it around as an athlete? How do you take the negativity and focus it into positive energy? People harness their emotions in different ways. For me, what would inspire greatness would be what happened to my dad and to turn that into something special. It’s what fuels my work now, what fuels the StandUp Foundation. It’s what I stand for now, and it's what I want to be known for. Athletes have to get in touch with the emotions that get them in the right place, that put them on that edge, and get them to perform on the slope or on the ice. In Russia, I would take all of that fear and emotion and hate from Russia and use it to my advantage. If I knew someone hated me and hated what I stood for, for me to stick it to them, to go there and show them that being gay makes me no less of a sportsman, it would fuel me to prepare that much more and focus that much more intensely. They don't want you to do well because you’re gay. There's no better way to show the world that being LGBT doesn't make you less of a sportsman. And I would enjoy showing people how good I am. And the whole time I’d be respectful and polite, because it would just piss them off more. It doesn't matter who you are or what you stand for. If you can bring it to a game, you deserve to be there.
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As an elite athlete at that level, doing everything you can to just win, do you follow the win-at-allcosts mentality? When people say win at all costs, it's a figure of speech. When you go into those competitions, you've gotten there on merit. You got there by abiding by the rules, not taking drugs. In my game, you have rules that are meant to have you live on the edge. When they say win at all costs, it's what you give day in and day out. It's what you've given up to be there. You haven't gone out with your friends on the weekend. You've gone out to be the best in your field. That's what I see … you give everything at all costs. You're pushing those boundaries, whether it be the laws of the games or the edge of your physical fitness. Take downhill skiing. Can you imagine being fourth on the medal table, and you're on your last run? You're on your last run. How am I going to get out of the gate? Am I going to go out and give 90 percent or am I going to give 100 percent? As a competitor, you’re thinking about how to give 110 percent. You want to go and come away with a sense of achievement. You want the reward you’ve given up all these years for. Some people say athletes and nations should make LGBT rights a focal point of the Games, that they should speak out and demonstrate against the Russian laws. Is it appropriate for us to expect that from athletes? I think it's very difficult. It's hard when you're part of a team, and you’re teammates with all the athletes from your country. You might be in different events, you might be a bobsledder or a speed skater, but whatever event you’re in, when you go en masse you're there as a team and you’re representing your country. You come under the team leader who gives you your code of conduct and the values of the country you represent. Within that team, there could be a lot of different personalities and backgrounds. Some people might be very religious, some might be pro-gay. I think as a manager, if you stand up there and say to your team that an LGBT organization has asked that we say a message of support, 90 percent of the team might support it. But 10 percent might not. And now you’ve got 10 percent of the team that's against 90 percent of the team, and that could cause problems. It might not, but it could be an issue for a group of people who are just there to represent their country and win. If it were me though, I'd just do it. It could cause some friction with other athletes, but I’d just do it. It’s that important to me that we do something. Do you think athletes speaking out during the Games can have an effect? We can all say what our disgust is, and we can air it and publicize it. But what's it going to do? How do we make a difference in a country that isn’t going to change its ways? Asking athletes to stand up at the most important moment of their lives is tough. We can't expect people to do it when they're there living their dream. But unfortunately Russia has put people in that position. If athletes speaking out won’t do the trick with Russia, where do you think we need to turn our focus? I think you need organizations like Nike and Adidas and Puma. I know Nike has been great. But they're the people who are in and around sports who have the power to say, 'we don't like that.' And then you look at your big sponsors like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s. We're not going to take on the Russian government. Where we can have an effect is where they hold future Olympics. It's the future Olympians we can help in these Games. Have you thought about going to Sochi to support the athletes? No, it's cold enough here in England.
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Using Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to
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By Kirk Walker
n to Maximize a Student-Athlete’s
SUCCESS THE STRESS
that every student-athlete (SA) faces from his or her academic, social and athletic world can be extremely challenging. An important question for all coaches and their staff members to consider is this — how does the culture created by a coach and team affect an SA’s ability to succeed and navigate the challenges in each of these worlds? This is the topic that Dr. Sue Rankin, former Vice Provost at Penn State University and I, an openly gay NCAA Division I coach, discussed in two presentations at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Convention in San Antonio, Texas last month. This is the first time that a topic on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ) SAs was presented at this convention. Our hope was to create a climate offering greater opportunities for dialogue on LGBTQ inclusion. The need to openly discuss the presence of LGBTQ individuals in sport is extremely topical and necessary because these individuals are an invisible minority whose existence has long been denied. The specific areas that were discussed included: • the influence of both the team and campus climates on an SA’s success • the influence of the coaches on setting climate • the power of the straight ally in creating a safe space for this to happen • the wasted energy an LGBTQ SA expends on fear of discovery that drains his or her focus on academics, personal development and/or skill development. The role of the coach and team leaders is tremendously important in creating a culture of acceptance. Coaches have great influence even if they aren’t vocal allies to the LGBTQ community directly. But if a coach does STAND UP as an ally, it can have an even greater influence on the experience of all of his or her SAs, not just those who are LGBTQ. Now working as an independent consultant and research specialist, Rankin, a former Division I coach, has been hired by many university systems to analyze the diversity and inclusion culture and climate on campuses across the country. Her desire to gather greater information about the student-athlete experience led to a study sanctioned by the NCAA which included 164 institutions encompassing five different athletic divisions with over 8,000 SAs representing all sports, both male and female. Her research data have provided clear evidence on the effects of team climate; LGBTQ SAs were equally affected by the climate and culture as were their heterosexual counterparts … except that the LGBTQ self-identified SAs experienced a far greater negative climate due to the language and culture that surrounded their sports teams.
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Since this was the first time athletes were allowed to
We wanted coaches to embrace the idea of diversity and
anonymously self-identify as LGBTQ, Rankin’s study surfaced
inclusion as a source of strength that supports the ideals of honor,
important information. It showed that the percentage of those
respect and good sportsmanship. This can and must begin with
who did self-identify was roughly five percent, an important
the head coach verbalizing the importance of diversity and then
number since there are likely many other SAs who weren’t yet
following through with actions that support these diversities.
comfortable self-identifying.
Another very important component was to provide the coaches
But some of the most powerful information supported
access to resources, including the CHAMPIONS OF RESPECT
both by the empirical data and the historical record is that SAs
handbook. Produced by the NCAA, it focuses on inclusion of
who experienced diverse and safe environments excelled in
LGBTQ SAs and staff in NCAA programs as well as many
the classroom and in their athletic development to a far greater
organizations that specialize in LGBTQ areas and sports.
extent. A logical correlation must be made; an inclusive and
Each presentation opened with the playing of “A Better
safer climate promotes greater success equally for LGBTQ
World,” a public service announcement (PSA) by Nike
athletes and their heterosexual teammates.
featuring many big name professional athletes showing how
What many coaches and college administrators don’t fully
athletes can make the world we all inhabit better. It challenges
realize is that LGBTQ SAs expend huge amounts of energy
the old stereotype that athletes are just jocks who have no
worrying about what they say, where they are looking, who
ability to make a true difference in our shared world.
they are spending time with … and the list goes on. In an at-
Held the evening before our presentations was a ceremony
tempt to keep their sexuality from being discovered, a huge
honoring four respected coaches as they were inducted into
amount of their daily energy is siphoned from meeting their
the NFCA Hall of Fame. In my presentation I pointed out the
academic and athletic goals. If the climate and culture around
consistency from the induction ceremony the night before (a
any team is safer and more accepting of diversity and inclusion,
similar happening at virtually any Hall of Fame induction
then a greater amount of an LGBTQ SA’s energy can be
ceremony) — the honored coaches’ amazing career statistics
focused on academic and athletic goals rather than fear of
were definitely recognized and honored. But in every case,
discovery. This is true regardless of whether or not an LGBTQ
their statistical accomplishments were accompanied by stories
athlete comes out to even one member of the team during his
of how they had impacted the lives of their SAs.
or her career.
These great coaches were remembered for how they chal-
Our intent was to show coaches and their staffs how to
lenged, supported, inspired and nurtured the growth of their
maximize the success of SAs. We wanted to engage coaches in
athletes on their path to becoming better people. This is the
the concept they understand most — winning and succeeding.
culture and environment of acceptance that leads to ultimate
A winning outcome is proven to be far more likely when the
success on the field and in the classroom as well as in life.
culture is supportive and safe for all athletes, including those
Climate does matter; climate does foster success!
who are under-represented in terms of race, sexuality, sexual
Looking at the age-old question of which comes first, the
identity, culture, religion and any other number of differences
winning or the culture, no doubt the culture comes first and is
that may exist with individual athletes, whether their minority
then perpetuated by winning successes. Thus the importance
status is visible or invisible.
for all coaches to take the initiative to build the right culture
“... the importance for all coaches to take the initiative to
build the right culture — it maximizes their athletes’ successes which in turn leads to an overall success of the team and program. Really, it’s a simple formula.” 48 I StandUp I WINTER 2014
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— it maximizes their athletes’ successes which in turn leads
Department’s “You Can Play” video to show the power of the
to an overall success of the team and program. Really, it’s a
ally and the power of coaches in the pursuit of sports equality.
simple formula.
Specifically discussed was UCLA’s head football coach Jim
Diversity needs to be recognized as a strength rather than
Mora becoming the first ever FSB (football bowl series) head
a weakness of a team. Any great coach knows that a team’s
coach to offer public support to LGBTQ SAs, emphatically
success in its sport happens when the athletes bring diverse
stating that they are welcomed to the team at UCLA.
strengths onto the field to make the team more complete. It
Our presentations created a powerful dialogue that was
makes the team less vulnerable to its opponents’ varied at-
overwhelmingly supported and encouraged by both LGBTQ
tacks. This requires coaches to value and respect the personal
and straight coaches in the audience to be a yearly topic at the
differences that every athlete brings to the team to form the
convention. Participants stressed that this discussion should
most cohesive, unbeatable team.
also be happening on more campuses and in athletic depart-
Being one of a few openly gay Division I coaches in the
ments across the country.
country, the question that was posed to me repeatedly by
One coach approached me after the presentations with tears
reporters when I come out in 2006 was this: how do you coach
in his eyes as he stated how much he had appreciated the
differently now that you are openly gay? My answer was always
information and dialogue. He said that as the father of a lesbian
the same. I coach my athletes the same as I always have.
daughter, he wasn’t convinced she could have equal experiences
We must value and respect our differences in the pursuit of
and opportunities in sport because she was a lesbian. But now
our common goal on the field. Our diversity is our daily
he had hope that she could experience the joy he valued in sport
strength yet our common goals are our daily focus. We don’t
during his life as an athlete and now a coach.
need to focus on our differences as long as we are actively respecting them. During the presentations we also played the UCLA Athletic
UCLA’s assistant softball coach, Kirk Walker is one of only a few openly gay coaches in the NCAA Division I.
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FITNESS
By Mark Moon
Five Minute Fat Fighter
I
T’S A NEW YEAR and we all would love more time in the day — more minutes to enjoy the stuff we often don’t get the chance to do because of our busy working lives. The time-poor athlete, however, shouldn’t fret and lose sleep over how much time he or she will need to dedicate to getting fit. Often the best training sessions are the short ones — as little as 20 minutes! Short interval-based circuits are ideal for anyone wanting to lose weight. Quality training — and great results — is all about your output. After all, you reap what you sow. A workout at a good intensity (more than 75 percent of your maximum heart rate) for 20 minutes can be as beneficial as 45 minutes or longer at half your maximum heart rate! If you’re looking for ripped abs and toned arms, HIIT (high intensity interval training) can help you get there. Drop more short-duration high-intensity workouts into your training regime and see your results soar. And better yet, you’ll be saving time that you can spend with your family and friends outside the gym. Try this five-exercise circuit to get fit in no time at all. Each round of the circuit should only take about five minutes. Move from exercise one to five resting only 15 seconds between each exercise. Repeat three or four rounds. Mark Moon is one of today’s leading health and wellness trainers, Blood Type Diet expert.
Short interval-based circuits are ideal for anyone wanting to lose weight.
50 I StandUp I WINTER 2014
1. MOUNTAIN CLIMBER 30 SECS 2. SQUATS X 30 REPS 3. PLANK X 60 SECS 4. LUNGES X 15 EACH LEG 5. BUTT LIFTS X 15 EACH LEG
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WOMENINSPORTS
By Nancy Hogshead-Makar
Good Sportsmanship Starts with the Privileged
“We don’t have any lesbians on the U.S. Swimming National Team.” Nancy Hogshead, 1984
I
WINCE WHEN I REMEMBER SAYING THESE WORDS. I didn’t just repeat them to my presumptively hetero circle of sorority and fraternity friends, I repeated it to my close lesbian friends within the women’s studies department at Duke University, to my lesbian friends and colleagues at the Women’s Sports Foundation — in fact, I’m pretty sure I made the assertion directly to my closeted lesbian teammates on the U.S. Swimming National Team. I may have even said it to Dr. Pat Griffin, acknowledged as one of the pioneers and leaders in addressing LGBT issues in sports. How could I have been so un-insightful? I’ve had gay and lesbian friends and colleagues since my teens, but I wasn’t open to the possibility that people I knew so well, for such a long time, would hide their sexual orientation from me. Looking back, of course my lesbian teammates weren’t out to me. As the privileged heterosexual person, I didn’t make the first step toward a thoughtful discussion that left us affirming our common humanness the way I might have for differences in race or ability. But unconsciously, I had a vested interest in denying my lesbian teammates’ existence. Here’s how. Sports have traditionally defined masculinity. Participation is seen as inculcating attributes like physical and emotional strength, goal orientation, aggression, a competitive nature. As such, women wading into the athletic fields have been a little suspect; they’re either mannish or lesbians. Swimming didn’t have an especially lesbian image in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. The fear of lesbianism is the greatest in sports where promoters need to attract a paying audience, like basketball and softball. I believed the heterosexual image of swimming and the idea that gays and lesbians could be in some
52 I StandUp I WINTER 2014
parts of sports but not in others. Instead, swimming’s image dabbled in the other limiting stereotype for women in sports, that the participants would become masculine or mannish. I know the put-down of that stereotype all too well. Even for Olympic swimmers, I’m unusually defined and muscular. One of my early coaches, an academic sports physiologist, assured my parents that I wouldn’t develop muscles when I started lifting weights at age 10. I swam lap-for-lap, lifted weight-for-weight with my teammates, but only I put on significant muscle mass. Many of my toughest competitors were my height but weighed 20 or 30 pounds less than I did while I had up to 10 percent lower body fat. Wearing a tank-top, people have tried to stop me as I went into a restroom, “Hey! That sign says ‘women’!” People sitting across the table from me would wince when I reached for the salt. (Even at age 51, when I wear a sleeveless top I’m sure to get lots of questions about my workouts. I must disappoint the questioners when I tell them that this full-time working motherof-three just tries to get in her cardio four times a week.) These two stereotypes told all women then and even now that engaging in sports, especially elite sports, is counter-gender. These stereotypes effectively diminish and negate all women’s real accomplishments in sports, as though the world records of lesbians or mannish women weren’t as worthy of praise. Homophobia insults all female contestants and ultimately operates to lower women’s sports participation rates. The dual stereotypes lead women in athletics to prove their femininity and their heterosexuality. I had media and nearstrangers ask me about my marriage plans, telling me with great certainty that I was “too intimidating for men.” I’ve seen numerous grant applicants assert their femininity, meaning that the applicant was therefore, “a good role model.” She didn’t need to say that a mannish athlete or a lesbian athlete would not inspire other girls and women. I tried to quash the mannish-stereotype of an elite female athlete by asserting my heterosexuality – and I unwittingly roped in my lesbian teammates in this defense. “We don’t have any lesbians on the U.S. Swimming National Team.” (And I believed it.)
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I had media and near-strangers ask me about my marriage plans, telling me with great certainty that I was “too intimidating for men.” It wasn’t until Title IX firmly kicked in and 50 percent of female high school students were playing a sport, either for their school or their club. The sheer numbers involved made it impossible to view women athletes as a tad freakish. Starting in the 1990s, research by the Women’s Sports Foundation found that parents aspired for their daughters in the same way they might for their sons. Yet for all the progress, the stereotypes still need more breakthroughs. When my male colleagues, like Richard Lapchick, Don McPherson or Don Sabo, acknowledge their masculine privilege and support gender equity in athletics, when they stand affirmatively to end the status-quo of women-as-second-class citizens, I feel a rush of gratitude. They can call out male privilege and say things that I cannot. Similarly, straight women owe it to embrace their lesbian teammates first. I’ve heard straight athletes complain that women would get the respect they were due “if it wasn’t for the lesbians.” They resented having to defend their sexuality. With heterosexual privilege, I can call out my straight sisters when they try to deny their lesbian sisters the equal applause for their accomplishments in a way that my lesbian teammates cannot. There are no segmented parts of the sports communities without our LGBT brothers and sisters. LGBT Americans have achieved success and prominence in every discipline in the world. So the presumption should be the truth of inclusion. When our lesbian sisters can bring all parts of themselves to sports, the noblest truth of sports shines through — that great accomplishments require all of our humanity, not just traditionally-labeled masculine parts of humanity but our feminine sides as well. Sports has a long way to go before participants can rip off the straight-jacket of gender roles, but a good start is by wiping out homophobia in athletics. Professor Nancy Hogshead-Makar is a civil rights attorney, law professor and senior director of advocacy for the Women’s Sports Foundation. She is considered one of the most influential people regarding Title IX.
WINTER 2014 I StandUp I 53
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